Six wild bighorn sheep were captured and fitted with GPS tracking collars last week as wildlife researchers seek to better understand the elusive animal’s movements around the southern San Juan Mountains.

According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokesman Joe Lewandowski, three rams and three ewes were tagged on Friday after researchers took a helicopter into a remote area of Colorado’s largest wilderness area.

“The capture went smoothly, and we’re starting to collect the data from the GPS system,” Brad Weinmeister, a terrestrial biologist for CPW in Durango, said in a prepared statement. “This is excellent habitat for the bighorns and now we’ll get a better idea about how they use the landscape in this area.”

Lewandowski said the bighorns were captured in a corner of the Weminuche Wilderness bounded by Vallecito Creek and the Pine River. The area is difficult to access and home to only about 70 bighorns, making it difficult for researchers to monitor the animals.

The study area also is the center of a controversial decision by the U.S. Forest Service to allow the continued use of public land for domestic sheep grazing.

The U.S. Forest Service last year released a proposed decision that would keep 50,000 acres open in the Weminuche Wilderness as summer range for about 5,600 sheep.

Domestic sheep can transmit diseases to wild bighorn that can kill entire herds. It’s CPW protocol to kill any bighorn that comes into contact with a domestic sheep.

Lewandowski said the capture is part of a five-year project to study the animal in collaboration with CPW, the U.S. Forest Service and the Rocky Mountain Bighorn Society.

With the ability to track bighorn movement, wildlife researchers may be able to limit the animals’ interactions with domestic sheep.

jromeo@durangoherald.com